Prep Football Preview: Princeton ready to go deeper into playoffs

Princeton – After a rough start to his tenure that featured four wins in his first three seasons, Princeton head coach Chris Pedigo has guided the Tigers into playoff relevancy with a pair of postseason appearances the last two seasons.

The bar is now raised.

“Our expectations are high,” Pedigo said. “We want to get back to the playoffs and make a push. It’s a tough road to ho with the amount of players we have but we have some good football players. I think we’ve got a lot of them, we just have to have a little luck on our side and stay healthy. If we can stay healthy like we did in 2020 and hit the playoffs with everybody healthy we have a chance to do some things.”

So far the early returns have been encouraging. Despite fielding a roster of around 50 players, the Tigers have competed well in their scrimmages, hanging with a Huntington team that finished as the state runner-up and demolishing South Charleston.

“We competed against a very good Huntington team in our scrimmage,” Pedigo said. “I don’t think we could say the same thing last year. Last year we did not look good granted we only took 20 kids up there then but I thought this time we competed and competed at a pretty high level. I liked our physicality and I felt like we did a lot of good things to build off of going into the season.”

Of all the things that have impressed Pedigo throughout August, near the top is how prepared his team has looked physically. Through the weight room the Tigers have built a culture that’s helped keep them conditioned in the offseason and throughout the summer Pedigo has noticed it pay dividends.

“One thing that really stands out is where our conditioning is at,” Pedigo said. “We’ve really focused on our conditioning this offseason in June and July and we did some good things. To be honest with you the kids hate the one days more than the two-a-days. Those shorter days have really whipped them but we’ve think we’ve done some good things. Last year we had a few injuries and weren’t able to finish and had that three game slide going into the playoffs. We want to finish so that’s what we need to focus on.”

As far as personnel, Pedigo has a good idea of what to expect with several key starters returning led by all-state quarterback Grant Cochran, all-state offensive lineman and Power 5 prospect Eli Campbell, speedster Dominick Collins and linebacker Brodee Rice.

Hs’s also been impressed with a few freshmen and other newcomers he anticipates will see meaningful varsity snaps.

“There’s been some good things but we’ve also got three kids that are playing that have never played varsity snaps before,” Pedigo said. “There’s going to be some big things expected of them. Marquell Lowe played halfback in our scrimmage and him and Brodee (Rice) will probably see equal time. Last year we started with a pretty good mix of tailbacks but when you’re playing both ways and you’re taking the pounding you do it’s tough. Marquell did some special things out of the backfield and probably had 100 yards rushing and catching the ball out of the backfield against Huntington. We’ve also got some other guys who haven’t played like Davon Edwards, a senior and little guy in the slot who can create separation. Another freshman we have is Brad Mossor who’s starting to get more reps and get better. Nick Flemming is a new one too that’s 6-foot-3 so we like where we’re at. If we stay healthy we’re going to get better each week.”

The newer additions will get thrown in the fire early as the schedule is loaded with challenges. Bluefield, Hurricane, Lord Botetourt, Greenbrier East, Bridgeport, Parkersburg South and Beckley headline a grueling slate.

“When I first got here we’d get 30 calls to get on our schedule because everybody wanted to play,” Pedigo said. “In the last few years it’s been a little more difficult and I understand because we’re doing good things. We haven’t arrived but it’s not an easy out to play Princeton anymore. You’re going to get a game when you play us and less and less teams want to play us. When you look at it you’re playing one of the best teams in double-A in Bluefield. You’re going to play one of the best teams in Virginia in Lord Botetourt and Hurricane with a new coach in Donnie (Mays) coming in. You’ve got Bridgeport which is a monster and I thought last year when we played them that they were the best coached football team I’ve ever seen. And then you’re going to see Parkersburg South which has 21 or 22 guys coming back and Nate (Tanner) does a good job with them. And we haven’t even mentioned Coach Lee’s team at Greenbrier East or Woodrow Wilson which has a lot of seniors coming back or Oak Hill with Coach (Dave) Moneypenny.”

As the preseason winds down, Pedigo’s biggest concern revolves around the group that took the biggest hit which is the offensive line. The Tigers are down a couple starters due to graduations, thus they’re holding open auditions to see who emerges to cement the front.

“Probably who’s going to be our first five on the offensive line,” Pedigo said. “We’ve got one we know is going to be there at guard but tackle is still open to reps and film review. That front five is probably my biggest concern but we’ve got some young guys coming up too. We’re trying to play a freshman team and jv schedule but with 48 kids it’s hard. But we’ve got some freshmen that are going to be really good. We’re trying to get them some playing time and some of them already are playing on varsity.”

Princeton will open its season on Aug. 26 when it hosts Lincoln County.

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